PROMOTER SPENDING $6 MILLION ON RACE

Ralph Sanchez is spending about $6 million on the Grand Prix of Miami this weekend and expects to lose money -- at least in the short-term.

Even if this year's race were to break even, Sanchez would still be in the red on his three-year-long attempt to establish Miami as a world racing capital. Rain washed out his first race in 1983, leaving him $1.2 million in debt.

"Anyone who wants to get into racing and make it in the first three years, they're living in a dreamland; they're living in Disney World," Sanchez said in an interview. The Cuban-born real estate developer estimated that he will need to run two more successful Grand Prix races to come out even on what has so far been an unprofitable sideline.

First, it took $2.5 million in seed money to buy basic construction materials such as concrete barriers, bridges and fencing. Another $1.5 million went for advertising. And it will cost $2 million to actually operate the race, including $250,000 in prize money.

Sponsors -- the big three this year are Lowenbrau, Camel and Mazda -- will pick up half the tab for actual operations, about $1 million. That's a major jump from the first year, when sponsors footed $400,000 of the total $4 million bill, Sanchez said.

Income is derived in part from admissions, which range from $20 to $55 for two days, and from broadcasting contracts. The event is being televised by the Spanish International Network in 32 countries. But Sanchez said that unlike the lucrative contracts for televising football games, the money received for broadcasting the Grand Prix is "peanuts."

"It won't pay two of my staff people's salaries for a year," he said.

Sanchez said he's reaching into his own pocket for between $3.5 million and $4 million for the race. He will dip into both personal funds and profits from his real estate and construction business, Miamian Realty.

Sanchez said he hasn't considered seeking partners to share the risk of the venture.

"I feel as long as I could do it on my own, I would," he said.

Even if the profits start to come in anytime soon, there's still the debt to pay. The city of Miami worked out a bail-out plan for Sanchez the first time around -- concrete barriers and bridges were bought by the city with the agreement that Sanchez would buy them back in 1987 for $500,000 plus up to 14 percent interest.

With so much money invested, Sanchez has no plans to quit running the Grand Prix.